After expressing frustration over how the proposed 1,900-unit Trinity Plaza development came to fruition, the Planning Commission on Thursday approved for the second time a zoning amendment that puts the project back before the Board of Supervisors for a vote.The commission’s second vote on the amendment came after the Board of Supervisors refused to adopt it in November 2006, as the project became bogged down over competing visions for how much affordable housing should be included.
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City officials are baffled by the low amount of revenue coming in from San Francisco’s more than 20,000 parking meters when an empty parking spot is nearly impossible.The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency is collecting no more than three hours worth of parking meter revenue per meter per day, according to a budget analyst report.
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After failing to adhere to a voluntary agreement to reduce plastic bag usage, large grocery stores in San Francisco may soon be required by law to use only environmentally friendly check-out bags.Supervisor Ross Mirkarimi introduced legislation Tuesday that would hit large grocery stores with steep penalties if they do not adhere to the proposed mandatory use of recyclable, compostable or reusable check-out bags.If ultimately approved by the Board of Supervisors, the legislation would go into effect July 1.
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The City is going to start coming after property owners who have let their sidewalks fall into disrepair.The Board of Supervisors approved on Tuesday a $1.3 million funding request for the Department of Public Works to launch a proactive enforcement program of sidewalk conditions. In the past, enforcement of sidewalk conditions was only complaint-driven.
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Farmers markets may soon start cropping up in San Francisco’s prized parks.A Board of Supervisors committee supported on Monday legislation that establishes a formal processfor organizers of farmers markets to apply with The City’s Recreation and Park Department to periodically set up a market on land overseen by the department.To date, The City has issued nine permits for farmers markets to open for business, including at the Ferry Building and the United Nations Plaza.
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San Francisco may have an answer to the long waits for taxicabs or the frustration of trying to hail a cab during rush hour: more cabs on the streets.The last time The City boosted the number of taxis permitted to drive around San Francisco was in 2001, bringing the total cabs in circulation to 1,381. In 1997, there were 821 cabs.
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Plagued by staffing shortages, the Department of Parking and Traffic is issuing fewer parking tickets than in previous years, a deficiency that has come under criticism as The City’s transportation agency once again considers a slew of parking citation and meter increases to close a projected budget shortfall.
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The business community has found a champion of its interests in the newest member of the Board of Supervisors.The politics of the recently elected District 4 Supervisor Ed Jew are welcomed by the San Francisco Chamber of Commerce and other business groups who have feuded with the Board of Supervisors over a number of issues recently, from the employer-mandated fee to help fund The City’s universal health care access program to the requirement of paid sick leave.
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The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency’s budget is healthier than it was last year, but agency officials are still in the position where they will have to consider revenue generators — such as an increase to parking citations — in an effort to close a projected budget shortfall.
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A lawsuit threatening to kill key funding of The City’s ambitious plan to provide health coverage for the uninsured will not deter officials from their plans to implement the health ordinance later this year as they weigh other options should they not prevail, including putting the ordinance on the ballot.The Golden Gate Restaurant Association, a nonprofit group representing the interests of restaurant owners, sued The City in November 2006, alleging that The City’s universal health access plan’s employer spending mandate was pre-empted by federal law.
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The Chamber of Commerce has asked for a delay in implementing a new law that requires businesses to offer paid sick leave — the first of its kind in the nation — as merchants and The City race to make sense of the law.
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A city report suggests there may be an alternative to Mayor Gavin Newsom’s high-profile agreement to provide free wireless Internet access throughout San Francisco and questions its promise of closing the "digital divide."Last Friday, Newsom announced that an agreement was reached with Earthlink and Google to blanket The City’s 49 square miles in a free wireless Internet, or Wi-Fi, network, at no cost to The City.
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The man appointed by Mayor Gavin Newsom at the airport to attract international tourism was denied a salary Wednesday by a Board of Supervisors committee, the latest rift in the strained relationship between the mayor and the board.The Board of Supervisors Budget and Finance Committee refused to release $92,890 for the six-month salary of Bill Lee, who serves as the airport’s International Economic and Tourism Development director.
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The man chosen to lead San Francisco’s most powerful political body, the Board of Supervisors, laid out an aggressive plan for the next year and questioned the leadership skills of the mayor as The City faces the loss of the 49ers and a continually high homicide rate.
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More than 1,300 crimes were committed last year at the eight sites where an additional 25 surveillance cameras are proposed for placement.The City currently has 33 cameras, which carry a $450,000 price tag, watching 14 crime-plagued intersections. The City's Police Commission will vote Jan. 17 on eight additional cameras at intersections that last year saw a high volume of reported crimes, including drugs, stolen cars, homicides and robberies.
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